On the other hand, no such benefits were observed when hamsters had their diets supplemented with grape seed flour from Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah, report scientists from the University of California, Davis, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Sonomaceuticals LLC/WholeVine Products (Santa Rosa, CA), and Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea.

“We have demonstrated that the improvements in plasma lipid profiles with the Chardonnay grape seed flours are linked to the regulation of bile acid, cholesterol, and fatty acid metabolism in the liver, which appears to be mediated through regulation of hepatic genes,” they wrote in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

“An antiobesity effect appears to be associated with expression of genes related to adipogenesis and inflammatory markers of adipose tissue.

“This study supports the potential dietary use of Chardonnay grape seed flour as a flavonoid-rich whole food ingredient for the prevention or management of obesity-related metabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and fatty liver in populations consuming a Western diet.”

Study details

Led by Hyunsook Kim, the researchers randomized 40 hamsters into four groups. All animals were fed the high-fat, Western-style diet, and three groups had their diets supplemented with 10% (w/w) grape seed flours from Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah for three weeks. All of the grape seed flours were provided by Sonomaceuticals, LLC/WholeVine products.

Results showed that hamsters fed the Chardonnay seed flour had significantly lower total-, VLDL-, and LDL-cholesterol concentrations, compared with the other groups.

The cholesterol improvements were linked to an up-regulation of genes in the liver associated with cholesterol and bile acid synthesis, and LDL-cholesterol uptake.

Chardonnay grape seed flour appeared to have an anti-obesity effect related to the expression of genes in fat tissue linked to inflammation and fat cell formation.

“The present study showed for the first time, to our knowledge, that hamsters fed a high-fat and hypercholesterolemic diet supplemented with Chardonnay grape seed flour significantly lowered plasma LDL-, VLDL-, and total-cholesterol concentrations, abdominal adipose tissue weight, and body weight gain in comparison to control diet,” they wrote.

“Although red wine is associated with lower plasma cholesterol in Mediterranean countries, cholesterol-lowering and antiobesity properties were not observed in Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah diets containing red wine grape seed flours, possibly due to low content of flavonoids from the winemaking process.”